Patient preferences for drug therapy in inflammatory arthritis: protocol for a living systematic review and evidence map to inform clinical practice guidelines.

Introduction: The pharmacological management of inflammatory arthritis often requires choices that involve trade-offs between benefits, risks and other attributes such as administration route, frequency and cost. This living systematic review aims to inform international clinical guidelines on inflammatory arthritis by creating an evidence map of patient preference studies concerning the trade-offs in pharmacological management of inflammatory arthritis.

Methods And Analysis: We will include published and peer-reviewed full-text studies in any language that quantitatively assess preferences of patients for the pharmacological management of inflammatory arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis).

Sex-related differences in patient characteristics, and efficacy and safety of advanced therapies in randomised clinical trials in psoriatic arthritis: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis.

Background: Sex-related differences in clinical manifestations and disease outcomes exist in psoriatic arthritis, however, there is limited information on sex-related differences in randomised controlled trials of psoriatic arthritis. We aimed to compare patient characteristics and efficacy and safety of advanced therapies (including biological and targeted synthetic therapies) between male and female patients with psoriatic arthritis participating in randomised controlled trials.

Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched Medline, Embase, and Central databases, and conference abstract archives, from their inception to June 10, 2022, for randomised controlled trials that assessed the efficacy of advanced therapies in psoriatic arthritis.

Operationalizing the GRADE-equity criterion to inform guideline recommendations: application to a medical cannabis guideline.

Objectives: Incorporating health equity considerations into guideline development often requires information beyond that gathered through traditional evidence synthesis methodology. This article outlines an operationalization plan for the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE)-equity criterion to gather and assess evidence from primary studies within systematic reviews, enhancing guideline recommendations to promote equity. We demonstrate its use in a clinical guideline on medical cannabis for chronic pain.

Crowd-sourcing and automation facilitated the identification and classification of randomized controlled trials in a living review.

Objectives: To evaluate an approach using automation and crowdsourcing to identify and classify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in a living systematic review (LSR).

Methods: Records from a database search for RCTs in RA were screened first by machine learning and Cochrane Crowd to exclude non-RCTs, then by trainee reviewers using a Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome (PICO) annotator platform to assess eligibility and classify the trial to the appropriate review. Disagreements were resolved by experts using a custom online tool.

Incidence Morbidity and Mortality From Falls in Skilled Nursing Facilities: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to systematically review and meta-analyze the incidence and consequential morbidity and mortality from falls in skilled nursing facilities. Our secondary objective is to synthesize current evidence on risk factors for injurious falls.

Design: Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Protocol for the development of guidance for collaborator and partner engagement in health care evidence syntheses.

Background: Involving collaborators and partners in research may increase relevance and uptake, while reducing health and social inequities. Collaborators and partners include people and groups interested in health research: health care providers, patients and caregivers, payers of health research, payers of health services, publishers, policymakers, researchers, product makers, program managers, and the public. Evidence syntheses inform decisions about health care services, treatments, and practice, which ultimately affect health outcomes.

Prioritising Cochrane reviews to be updated with health equity focus.

Background: The prioritisation of updating published systematic reviews of interventions is vital to prevent research waste and ensure relevance to stakeholders. The consideration of health equity in reviews is also important to ensure interventions will not exacerbate the existing inequities of the disadvantaged if universally implemented. This study aimed to pilot a priority setting exercise based on systematic reviews of interventions published in the Cochrane Library, to identify and prioritise reviews to be updated with a focus on health equity.

Canadian Rheumatology Association Recommendations for the Screening, Monitoring, and Treatment of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis-Associated Uveitis.

Objective: To develop Canadian recommendations for the screening, monitoring, and treatment of uveitis associated with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).

Methods: Recommendations were developed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE)-ADOLOPMENT approach. A working group of 14 pediatric rheumatologists, 6 ophthalmologists, 2 methodologists, and 3 caregiver/patient representatives reviewed recent American College of Rheumatology (ACR)/Arthritis Foundation (AF) recommendations and worked in pairs to develop evidence-to-decision (EtD) tables.

Equity Considerations in COVID-19 Vaccination Studies of Individuals With Autoimmune Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases.

Objective: We sought to examine the extent to which populations experiencing inequities were considered in studies of COVID-19 vaccination in individuals with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic diseases (AIRDs).

Methods: We included all studies (n = 19) from an ongoing Cochrane living systematic review on COVID-19 vaccination in patients with AIRDs. We used the PROGRESS-Plus framework (place of residence, race/ethnicity, occupation, gender/sex, religion, education, socioeconomic status, and social capital, plus: age, multimorbidity, and health literacy) to identify factors that stratify health outcomes.

A Framework for the Development of Living Practice Guidelines in Health Care.

Background: Living practice guidelines are increasingly being used to ensure that recommendations are responsive to rapidly emerging evidence.

Objective: To develop a framework that characterizes the processes of development of living practice guidelines in health care.

Design: First, 3 background reviews were conducted: a scoping review of methods papers, a review of handbooks of guideline-producing organizations, and an analytic review of selected living practice guidelines.

Crowdsourcing trainees in a living systematic review provided valuable experiential learning opportunities: a mixed-methods study.

Objectives: To understand trainee experiences of participating in a living systematic review (LSR) for rheumatoid arthritis and the potential benefits in terms of experiential evidence-based medicine (EBM) education.

Study Design And Setting: We conducted a mixed-methods study with trainees who participated in the LSR and who were recruited broadly from training programs in two countries. Trainees received task-specific training and completed one or more tasks in the review: assessing article eligibility, data extraction, and quality assessment.

Systemic interventions for treatment of Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and SJS/TEN overlap syndrome.

Background: Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS), toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), and SJS/TEN overlap syndrome are rare, severe cutaneous adverse reactions usually triggered by medications. In addition to tertiary-level supportive care, various systemic therapies have been used including glucocorticoids, intravenous immunoglobulins (IVIGs), cyclosporin, N-acetylcysteine, thalidomide, infliximab, etanercept, and plasmapheresis. There is an unmet need to understand the efficacy of these interventions.

Substantial heterogeneity found in reporting mortality in Cochrane systematic reviews and Core Outcome Sets in COMET database.

Objective: To explore mortality outcome usage in Cochrane systematic reviews and Core Outcome Sets for research.

Study Design And Setting: Cochrane PICO searches identified Cochrane reviews (published January 2015-March 2021) including mortality outcomes. These outcomes were categorized according to terminology used: all-cause mortality, cause-specific mortality, infant mortality, maternal mortality, survival.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for acute gout.

Background: Gout is an inflammatory arthritis resulting from the deposition of monosodium urate crystals in and around joints. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are commonly used to treat acute gout. This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2014.

Dietary supplements for chronic gout.

Background: Dietary supplements are frequently used for the treatment of several medical conditions, both prescribed by physicians or self administered. However, evidence of benefit and safety of these supplements is usually limited or absent.

Objectives: To assess the efficacy and safety of dietary supplementation for people with chronic gout.

Pharmacotherapy for hypertension-induced left ventricular hypertrophy.

Background: Hypertension is the leading preventable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death worldwide. One of the clinical effects of hypertension is left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), a process of cardiac remodelling. It is estimated that over 30% of people with hypertension also suffer from LVH, although the prevalence rates vary according to the LVH diagnostic criteria.

Interventions for tophi in gout.

Background: Tophi develop in untreated or uncontrolled gout. This is an update of a Cochrane Review first published in 2014.  OBJECTIVES: To assess the benefits and harms of non-surgical and surgical treatments for the management of tophi in gout.